Kudos to Frances Chapin | Letters to the Editor

We suddenly find ourselves more than a quarter century into our home in Edmonds, and while still "newcomers" in the eyes of natives, it does give us perspective on the town and its growth over time.

One of the signal features of Edmonds' character is how we value the arts as a community, and we have happily seen the continued growth of that ethos over these years. Edmonds is enhanced in so many ways – aesthetic, economic, community building, and in the

ineffable – because of the daily presence of the arts in our community.

I recently read in The Beacon that the town had received another award recognizing this community-wide commitment to the arts, and though I looked, I could not find Cultural Services Manager’s Frances Chapin’s name in the article.

Many stepped forward to acknowledge the City's honor, but I searched for mention of her name as the single person I can think of who has been at the center of arts development in civic life over so many years in Edmonds.

Frances is a “linker and a hub” in every arts-related endeavor – a quiet, behind-the-scenes person who does the wheel barrel of tasks to get essential things done.

In recent weeks, we have been reminded at the federal level of the thousands who work on our behalf each day in government service not for great remuneration, but to serve others. It is no less true at the state and local level.

People like Chapin serve the community every day, enriching community life, so often without proper recognition or thanks. Frances does the daily work that makes the accomplishments happen.

"We the people" is the center of what we espouse, and the people who do the daily work that is our government are the real champions supporting our community.

So, I want to thank you, Frances, for all you have done to make Edmonds the arts city that it is and will be. Thank you for your continued advocacy and work.

I briefly served on the Arts Commission long ago, so I know from my own experience how key you have been in keeping the City's eye on things that really matter, and finding harmony in what others might find dissonant.

You deserve a feature in The Beacon, but all you have to do is look around our town to find evidence that your work matters.

Thank you.

Peter HodgesEdmonds

Unsafe at any age

My name is Justin. I am a Boy Scout who is working on a merit badge on communication.

I have lived in both Edmonds and Lynnwood for all my life. I have seen it on the news and in the Beacon – teenagers speeding down Olympic View Drive and Olympic Avenue.

I feel frustrated that my peers feel that they can speed down the road past midnight. As someone who goes to school with these people, it scares me. I know that you cannot stop them, but I believe that students’ parents should be educated on the dangers and the innocent lives lost due to this hazard.

I feel that the Beacon could write more stories about speeding in our towns.

Justin ReedLynnwood

Questions, questions, questions

I saw a recent article about private developers cutting down trees in Edmonds with little regulation from the city. I would love to see a series of articles on:

The bald eagle pair in Edmonds bowl, how deforestation could affect them, and any state or federal laws that might be leveraged to protect their habitat;

Edmonds long-term development plans and how that impacts development regulation (or lack of);

Division and elimination of neighborhoods due to lack of adequate development and zoning regulation, specific to slot housing;

What citizens can do to improve zoning in laws that regulate development with poor impact on neighborhoods; and

Lack of green space and open space in development planning and the impact that has on parks in Edmonds, children’s development, and appeal of Edmonds to middle class families.

Nichole FrankoEdmonds

Question about 911 system

I received an e-mail notification from Okanogan County regarding the failure of the 911 system.

This was the only official notification I had received about the failure. I forwarded this emergency alert to the Edmonds City Council and inquired if Edmonds or Snohomish County had a similar emergency alert system.

After four weeks, I have still not received a response from anyone on the Edmonds City Council. It appears our councilmembers are more interested in trivial matters like the “Welcome to Downtown Edmonds” signage.

One would think emergency preparedness would receive some attention from those elected to represent us.

We would be well served to elect a City Council that does.

Ed CaspersEdmonds

Edmonds Police Chief Al Compaan responds: I cannot speak for the City Council, but what I can tell you is that the Dec. 27 outage did not affect the ability for anyone in need of 911 services, who initiated a call to 911 in Snohomish County, to contact our dispatch center.

This was not true for a number of other 911 centers in this state and in other areas of the country. But our operations for incoming 911 calls were normal during this time.